- 7 February – Sydney’s Daily Telegraph breaks the story that Joyce is expecting a baby with Vikki Campion, a former staffer. Campion, a former journalist, began an affair with Joyce while she worked as his media adviser.
- 10 February – Joyce reveals that he and Campion lived in a rent-free apartment in Armidale provided by his friend Greg Maguire, a local businessman.
- 13 February – Pressure mounts over a job that Campion was given by Nationals colleague Matt Canavan, after she and Joyce began their relationship. Joyce declares it is above board because Campion was “not his partner” at the time.
- 14 February – A small group of Nationals MPs considers asking Joyce to resign as leader, but the movement fizzles.
- 15 February – Malcolm Turnbull announces that Joyce will be taking a week of leave, and will not become the acting prime minister while he is away. Hours later, he announces a ban on sex between ministers and staffers. He is scathing of Joyce’s relationship – calling it “a shocking error” that unleashed “a world of woe”.
- 16 February – Joyce fires back and the prime minister and his deputy spend the day duelling through rival press conferences. Joyce calls Turnbull “inept”. Turnbull doubles down.
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19 February – Nationals MP Michael McCormack, seen as a frontrunner to replace Joyce, refuses to pledge his loyalty. He will say only that there is no challenge “at the moment”. A Newspoll finds 65% of voters think Joyce should resign.
- 20 February – The West Australian branch of the Nationals calls on Joyce to resign.
- 21 February – Joyce – still technically on leave – offers an exclusive interview in which he tells the media to “move on” and respect the privacy of his unborn son.
- 22 February – Nationals MP Andrew Broad becomes the first federal MP to call for Joyce to step down as leader.
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23 February – Another MP, Andrew Gee, withdraws support for Joyce and declares “all bets are off”, after the Daily Telegraph reports that Joyce has been hit by a sexual harassment claim.
